Golf is a precision club-and-ball sport where competitors, i.e. golfers, use many types of clubs in an attempt to hit a golf ball into a hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes. The game of golf does not require a standardized playing area. Golf courses are instead typically uniquely designed and may vary in size, shape, structure, length, type and/or quantity of obstacles (e.g. sand traps or water hazards), etc. Golfers must, therefore, know how to make various shots with different clubs, depending upon the location and distance the golfer is from the hole. Knowing which club to use is generally a function of the golfer learning how far the club can hit the golf ball. Additionally, obstacles such as trees or sand traps may prohibit the golfer from hitting a ball in a certain direction, at a certain trajectory, or with a certain club.
Golfers generally use a “driver” to hit a golf ball long distances off the tee, depending, of course, on the initial distance the golfer is from the hole. Drivers have the largest head and typically are the longest in length. Fairway woods have a somewhat smaller head and are relatively shorter in length and are designed for long-distance shots such as from the tee or from the fairway. The next class of clubs includes the so-called “irons”. Irons are the most numerous and versatile class of golf clubs. These clubs are typically relatively shorter in length than the driver or the woods and have a generally increasing angled club head as per the club number. The iron club head has a leading edge that is somewhat sharply rounded. This edge may dig up a chunk of turf from the ground during a shot—commonly called a “divot”. Golfers oftentimes create divots in the fairway because the golf ball is struck on the down swing such that the club digs into the ground on the follow through after striking the ball. Lastly, putters are designed to hit the ball along the fringe or the surface of the green to roll the ball into the cup.
There are many golf ball swing trainer-type devices available in the prior art that endeavor to improve the characteristics of a golf swing. Some devices are directed to the design of compact swing training aids that enable a golfer to practice golf swings, such as putting, in relatively confined areas of the home or office. For example, some training aids include a cup surrounded by a carpeted or synthetic-type material designed to simulate low-cut grass on a putting green. These devices are typically smaller in size and allow the golfer to practice putting inside of a building. Other golf ball swing training aids enable a golfer to practice a golf swing while away from the golf course or a driving range. Such activities may take place in a yard or in a nearby park having a relatively confined area. In these environments, golfers may practice hitting lightweight, perforated plastic balls that travel only a few feet and have little force upon impact despite being struck solidly with the golf club. Others may use nets to confine the distance the golf ball may travel after being struck. Such golf swing training aids allow golfers to practice golf swing skills by simulating game-type and/or turf-type conditions. But, there are relatively few such training aids that enable the golfer to specifically work on practicing iron shots.
One particular problem with mastering hitting a golf ball with an iron is that the iron shot is not easy to practice. As briefly described above, hitting a golf ball with an iron can be tricky to master because it is intuitively contrary to instinct. That is, when a golfer hits a shot with an iron, the club head should strike the golf ball first, then dig into the ground as the club head travels downwardly along its trajectory. Hitting the golf ball squarely in this manner provides the best possible stroke for maintaining distance and control. The iron club head should come down and compress the golf ball between the ground and the club face. This produces back spin on the golf ball that, when combined with the angled club head, causes the golf ball to rise. Thereafter, the club slices into the ground and picks up a wedge of dirt and grass. This is the so-called “divot”. Divots can be particularly destructive to the golf course and may require attention from the grounds crew to ensure the grass continues to grow in and around the divot. It also helps when the golfer replaces the divot upon removal from the ground at the time of the shot. The very nature of the iron shot certainly rules out practice in the house and, for most people, rules out the possibility of practicing in a backyard since continued practice in one spot would tend to ruin the lawn.
Some devices known in the art consist of practice boards or platforms designed to allow the golfer to practice driving shots, such as those with irons, without damaging natural grass. But none of these devices are particularly adapted to permit the golfer to practice a true fairway iron shot wherein the club head is able to continue traveling downwardly into the ground after striking the ball. For example, some golf practice mats known in the art are made from artificial turf. The turf mats are designed so a golfer can get the feel of hitting a golf ball off a grass surface without actually needing a natural grass patch. This enables the golfer to practice without damaging natural grass. But, this type of mat is better suited for practicing shots with drivers, woods or putters because there is no “give” in the relatively rigid structure that supports the artificial grass. As with an iron shot, it is desirable that the golfer strike the golf ball such that the club head continues to descend into the ground. An abrupt stoppage of the club against a solid unforgiving surface can cause injury to the forward shoulder, elbow or wrists, especially with repetitious use and practice. Most undesirable is the fact that the golfer assuredly cannot hit under and through the ball because the club bounces off the mat upon impact. Hence, the golfer is unable to practice the iron shot while simultaneously getting the feel and resistance of creating a divot that the golfer otherwise experiences when hitting an iron shot from a natural grass turf.
In an effort to rectify the problems discussed above with respect to the practice boards or platforms, U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,847 to Fischl discloses a golf practice device having an artificial divot means disposed in a platform. The divot means is removably embedded in a concave portion formed into the surface of the base of the platform. The inwardly concave recess generally mates with the divot means such that, when in the concave portion, the divot means is generally in the same plane as the rest of the platform. In use, the golfer first strikes the golf ball. Then, the divot means is struck by the golf club head as it travels toward the nadir of its trajectory—the nadir being disposed beneath the plane of the platform. In turn, the golf club head strikes and launches the divot means out from within the concave recess in the platform. Thus, the Fischl practice device improves upon the aforementioned prior art such that a golfer may better experience creating a divot in a natural turf. But, such a loosely placed divot means in a concave portion of a platform does not provide accurate and consistent physical resistance. Thus, Fischl is unable to provide the type of resistance one would expect from cutting through dirt and grass to create a divot in natural grass turf.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 6,746,340 to Dover similarly discloses an artificial turf golf practice mat that has a removable rectangular divot patch sized to simulate a real dirt divot on a fairway. The forward end of the divot patch is anchored to a rubber base such as by a hook and loop, a clamp or through permanent attachment to the artificial grass layer. In action, the divot patch is propelled away from the mat in a similar manner as described above with respect to the Fischl patent. When struck, the rear edge of the divot patch disjoins from the top layer of the platform and is propelled forward by the club head. Thereafter, the golfer may re-insert the divot patch back into a portion of the platform to practice another shot. Like Fischl, Dover fails to adequately account for the type of resistance that a golfer may experience when properly striking a golf ball with an iron. That is, the aforementioned divot patch is only lightly anchored to the golf swing training aid and is, therefore, incapable of adjustably simulating such resistance as would be experienced with natural turf. Moreover, Fischl and Dover both fail to provide a swing training aid that does not have components that disjoin or are ejected from the trainer itself. Fischl and Dover also do not disclose any means for providing viable visual feedback.
Accordingly, there is a need for a golf swing training aid capable of enabling a golfer to repetitiously and safely practice hitting an iron shot. Such a golf swing training aid should provide visual feedback in the form of a target plane where the golfer should strike the golf ball on the field surface, should enable the club head to first strike the golf ball and then continue downwardly along its trajectory, and should provide sensory feedback in the form of resistance that simulates the type of resistance a golfer can expect to experience when digging a divot in a natural grass surface. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.